Gay Marriage Persuasive Speech

I am doing my presentation in a fictional persona called Alyssa.

Hi everyone my name is Alyssa, and I'm Gay. It's not such a big deal; I'm just like all the other women in the world, except I prefer women over men. One day I would like to marry a woman, but at the moment the government is restricting me from doing so. We live in a democratic society where we believe in equal rights don't we? Well why don't gay couples have the same rights as heterosexual couples? The Law is obviously old and out-dated, as the values of the community have changed since it was originally made. It discriminates against us, when we are only being ourselves. People say we are the unnatural ones, when in reality; they are the ones being unnatural, as the concept of discrimination is human-made and therefore not natural. Many religions are discriminating against us, and they are one reason why the law has not yet been changed. I am here to argue my case about why gay marriage should be legalised, so that one day I can marry the one I love.

As Australians, we believe in equality don't we? Equal rights for all, men, women, all races etc. Yet, there is still inequality between heterosexuals and homosexuals. It's legal for heterosexuals to marry who they like, but not for homosexuals. In 2010, the Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young introduced a Marriage Equality Bill. In February of the same year the Senate rejected it. No matter how many Bills have been introduced; they have so far been rejected. This is ridiculous, I cannot understand why a country that believes in equality is restricting gay marriage! America is already far ahead of us, with many states having legalised gay marriage. Even South Africa, where discrimination runs rampant, has legalised it. 1.2% of Australia's adult population are homosexuals. At least, those are the ones we know about; as many feel the need to hide their sexuality because they feel discriminated against. We're Australians right? We have made discrimination illegal, created equal rights for everyone and all these wonderful things. But we don't have equal rights for homosexuals; no we're not allowed to marry the ones we love. People who are fighting against gay marriage are hypocrites. They preach equality and anti-discrimination, but at the same time they discriminate against homosexuals. We say we're Australian and that we believe in equal rights and are against discrimination, yet every time we fight against gay marriage we are being discriminatory. The majority of common society supports it, just ask anyone in the community, they'll tell you to legalise it already and move on to more important issues. So if it's un-Australian, let alone illegal, to discriminate, why is it still happening?

Okay I understand some people are super-religious and are against gay marriage because it's against their religion, but it's not like we're asking them to marry someone of the same sex. They claim that it's a sin in the eyes of God, and that it's their job to "stop it", but God wants us to love one another equally. They argue that it says in the bible that homosexuality is sinful, however in the Age article The Straight and Narrow, the writer, Elizabeth Skinner says "If Adam marrying Eve in the Bible has anything at all to do with marriage only being possible between a man and a woman... then I pray to God that nobody asks how Cain and Abel (Adam and Eve's sons) had daughters, because I'm not sure what would be legal then." God doesn't judge which gender you love, he doesn't judge at all. Promiscuity and Abuse, okay I can understand how they are sinful, but homosexuality isn't necessarily either of those things. The Bible was written in the days when homosexuality wasn't as well known or accepted and yet many still try to apply it to the 21st century. It's not meant to be taken literally and applied to every situation in life, many of the stories written were about that particular time period, and don't always apply to the present day. As society changes, the Church often lags behind, especially when it comes to change. In order to rule out discrimination altogether, the Church needs to catch up to the rest of society.

Speaking of a different time, the legal meaning of marriage in Australia is old and out-dated. It was made in the Marriage Act 1961 and states that marriage is "the union of a man and woman to the exclusion of all others,